Plight of the Wonderbolts
Chapter 9: Plight of the Wonderbolts
Rainbow Dash and her elite team of Wonderbolts soared over the Palomino Desert. Their current heading was towards a column of black smoke that rose high into the air. Dash’s gut sank at the very sight of it, fearing the worst for Dan. She had so much to say to him… she couldn’t bare it if he was hurt because of what she had done.
“Hey Dash!” Spitfire called out, distracting Rainbow from her thoughts. “You think whatever’s been getting those fringe towns got to Ace too?”
“We’re getting close to Dodge Junction, it’s not exactly mainstream.” Soarin’ added.
“No!” The chromatic mare added a little too forcefully. “Ace is fine! I know he is!”
Spitfire grimaced. “If you know he’s fine, then what are we doing? If we were heading out because another town got attacked and we might be able to stop it, I can get that. But if this is just because you guys didn’t get back together the way you imagined…”
Dash didn’t answer her. Instead, she pointed her eyes towards the column of smoke and pushed herself to fly faster, forcing the others to do the same.
“He’s okay… he’s okay…” She whispered to herself.
The Wonderbolts touched down in the middle of Dodge Junction, eyeing the destruction around them. Their eyes and mouths were wide open, in total disbelief. Burnt, almost skeletal corpses littered the street, most looking like they died painfully.
“What could have done this?” Thunderlane asked aloud. He walked up to one of the dead ponies, gagging at the horrible smell it gave off.
“Not zebras, that’s for sure…” Soarin' muttered back, finding the source of the smoke: a caved in building that faintly read “The Bannered Mare”.
“Hello?” Rainbow Dash called out. “Ace? Anypony?”
A silence fell over the group as they listened for any sounds whatsoever. All they could hear was the occasional gust of wind, and the crackling of leftover flames from inside the smoking building. Soarin’ coughed awkwardly.
A sudden plank fell from one of the charred ruins, startling everypony.
Then the silence reigned again.
“No good…” Spitfire said. “Alright everypony, I’m sorry Dash dragged us all the way out here for nothing. Give us a minute, will ya? Girl Talk.”
The other two Wonderbolts looked at one another, shrugged, and let the mares have their space. Spitfire walked up to Rainbow Dash and placed a hoof around her shoulders.
“Listen Dash, I know you’ve been having a rough time and I know this couldn’t have been easy for you to take. I understand gut feelings, but....”
Spitfire looked at the other Wonderbolts.
“It’s not fair to us that you bring us all along because you’re worried something could have happened. I mean, what were the chances he was here? Wouldn’t he have come straight to you?”
Rainbow sniffed and rubbed her eye. “About that…”
“Hey, Rainbow. It’s okay. Everypony makes mistakes. You and Ace, you’ve got something special. Maybe you just need to take a step back and not obsess too much over it. I’m sure he’s fine. Besides, what could we have possibly done against his kind of attack?”
Dash’s eyes teared up. She felt a hard lump in her throat as she listened to Spitfire go on, and by the end her lip was trembling. She opened her mouth to try and squeeze out a response, but nothing came out.
Then, she felt a chill go down her spine.
“Heheheheh…”
Everypony’s heads snapped up, searching around for the source of the voice. It sounded so familiar, but there was something off about it…
A chorus of buzzing filled the air. It sounded as if every building was filled with angry hornets. The Wonderbolts snapped to and formed up, making a circle so none of their backs were exposed. In a moment, Dash switched to duty mode, feeling her gut sink ever lower.
“It can’t be…” she muttered. The other Wonderbolts seemed to follow her train of thought, for they all tensed up. “Changelings…”
All Tartarus broke loose.
What must have been three dozen changelings burst out the ruins, hissing and buzzing their fury at the ponies in front of them. The Wonderbolts were unfazed, and waited until the insects were within striking distance to act. And act they did.
Rainbow had the fastest speed and reflexes, and was the first to burst into action. She charged forward, an unstoppable rainbow blur that knocked away a trio of changelings as the crossed her path. A quick burst into the air and a tight loop had her bring her hooves down fatally on another.
Spitfire was no slower on the uptake. A single one of the bug-like creatures was permitted to reach hoof-to-hoof combat, but the Wonderbolt swung it around like a big, chitinous bat, knocking away a wave of its friends before throwing the ponyhandled insect away. She quickly sprung into the air with Rainbow Dash, where the pegasi would enjoy the advantage of their natural element.
While the two mares took to the skies, the Wonderbolt stallions were set upon by a group of ten changelings, grinning as they formed a circle around them. One of the changelings, obviously the leader given his extra armor, hissed threateningly. The stallions backed up against each other to give the insects no opportune edge, grinning at one another.
“Hey Thunderlane.” Soarin’ called aloud. “Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take the stupid one in the armor, who hissed instead of attacking when he had the chance.” The Wonderbolt quipped back, lowering his stance and locking eyes with the leader in front of him.
In a flash, the Wonderbolts had burst into action. Thunderlane did, in fact, take the leader head on, tackling the changeling to the ground. But the changeling proved to be more than its underlings, using the momentum to flip itself and Thunderlane one more time than the Wonderbolt wanted. The end result was one more punch to the face than Thunderlane wanted, before he got his bearings again and fought scrappily with the leader.
Soarin’ quickly found himself in hot water. He was quickly surrounded by Changelings, yet the veteran Wonderbolt wasn’t phased. He took to the air and spun around, striking out with his rear hooves. Pained hisses and sounds of carapaces cracking filled the air as the pie-eating Wonderbolt made quick work of his opponents, only to be beset upon by more of the winged bug creatures.
Up in the air, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash zipped around, bashing in the skulls of any Changelings that dared get to close, one getting slammed right into the ruins of the Bannered Mare, causing what was left of the structure to collapse.
“The buck are these things doing here!?” Spitfire swore, angling herself to slam into a pair of Changelings bee-lining towards the pair.
“Beats the hay out of me, Spits!” Dash growled, noticing two Changelings behind them. Dash twirled around and dive bombed, Spitfire following suit. They angled upwards before hitting the ground, weaving in and out of the ruins of Dodge Junction, low to the ground at high speeds. The Changelings hissed in frustration as they tried to keep up the chase, but ended up crashing in the ruins of the post office.
Rainbow Dash and Spitfire lowered their hooves, skidding to a halt next to Soarin’ and Thunderlane’s fight. Rainbow Dash, using the dust from her skid, leaped over the top of another pair of Changelings, wrapping her hind legs around one of their necks, grunting as she applied the right amount of pressure to snap the bug’s neck. As the Changeling Rainbow dispatched crumpled, Spitfire spun through the air and used her hind legs to kick the other one into the dirt, a plume of dust getting sent upward.
“Hell yeah!” Thunderlane cheered as the Changelings started retreating into the ruins, away from the Wonderbolts, who again retained the circular stance in the middle of town. “Keep runnin’, you cudheads!”
Rainbow Dash gave her own smirk, the competitor inside of her was grinning ear to ear at their dispatching of the enemy responsible for the destruction of this small frontier town.
But...something didn’t feel right.
More buzzing sounded in her head suddenly, and it was way more intense than the collective buzzing they all felt earlier. Dash grunted in pain, going down onto her belly and using her forehooves to cover her forehead.
“Dash?!” Spitfire was at her co-captain’s side in an instant. “Dash? What’s wrong?”
Thunderlane and Soarin’ exchanged worried glances. Clearly it was only Rainbow Dash who was experiencing this pain.
“B-Buzzing!” Dash blurted out, her eyes screwed shut in pain. “So much buzzing!”
Thunderlane looked around, panic on his face, “I...I don’t hear any-AARGH!” With a green burst of light, the black-furred Wonderbolt was down, a smoking hole in his chest.
“THUNDERLANE!” Soarin’ barked, rushing to his companion’s side, yanking off Thunderlane’s goggles off of his still form and lifting his unmoving head up.
“My my my...what do we have here?”
The buzzing still in the back of her head, Rainbow Dash leaped up from the ground. She would recognize that voice anywhere. “A-Ace!?”
There, on the top of the ruined water tower near the square, stood the stallion of legend, Blue ‘Ace’ Bass. His normally golden eyes were now green, blood coated his normally luscious blue hide, and his extended forehoof was smoking slightly. He had been the one to fire the blast at Thunderlane.
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “You...you’re not-”
“Your precious little Ace?” The stallion scoffed, raising his hoof up to his muzzle and blowing on it, putting out the rest of the smoke. “Please. He’s long gone, Loyalty.” He leaped off the water tower, steadily floating down to the ground with his wings. He gave a mocking bow. “Truly, what an honor to be in the presence of such a pony. You even brought the blunderbolts…”
Spitfire and Soarin’ were by Thunderlane, tending to the black stallion’s wound, but that didn’t stop Spitfire from looking up and scowling. “Ace or not, you’re oozing for a bruisin’, pal!”
The stallion who looked like Ace barked out an eerie, bone-chilling laugh. “You get that one from Honesty, fire crotch?” He turned back to Rainbow Dash, ignoring Spitfire’s threatening growl, sauntering forward. “Speaking of, where are your...friends? I have a date with each of them after I’m done with you…”
Rainbow Dash stuttered, a tear streaming down her face. “What...what are you? What have you done to my stallion!?”
“Oh how rude…” The stallion smirked, one of his evil green irises shrinking slightly as he stared down Rainbow Dash. “The name...is Poison Bass.” He gave another one of his mock bows. “And your stallion is gone. Now there is only Poison where once there was a shade of blue. Now there is only disharmony where song once existed.”
Rainbow Dash was starting to get mad. She pawed the dirt, snorting. She was about to go off.
“Where there was love…” He grinned and licked his lips. “Lust.”
“THAT’S IT, YOU CREEP!” Rainbow Dash whinnied, rearing up and flaring her wings. In a rush of wind, Dash was off in the air, speeding towards Poison Bass.
(I wrote the following scene to this particular song:
)
“Now we’re talking!” Poison Bass bared his pointed canine teeth and, with lightning fast reflexes, spun around and kicked Rainbow Dash right in the face as she sped towards him, sending her skidding across the dusty ground.
“DASH!” Spitfire was about to take off after the downed Rainbow Dash, but Soarin’ yanked her back down.
“Let this play out!” He plead with his marefriend. “Plus, Thunderlane is bleeding out here! We need to get him to safety!”
Spitfire hesitated for a moment, but nodded as she and Soarin’ lifted the still Thunderlane away from the ensuing battle between the two Elements of Love.
Rainbow Dash groaned as she pushed herself to her hooves, spitting out some blood. She wiped her mouth and turned to eye Poison Bass, who was cockily approaching her, that evil grin plastered on his face. She laughed, coughing as she feigned an attack stance. “You hit like a mare…”
“Says the sorry excuse to mares everywhere…” Poison Bass smirked, extending his wings and speeding towards Dash.
Dash roared and flung herself into the air straight at her lover. The thought of attacking him caused her to falter slightly mid-flight, a tear streaming down her face. Sensing her distracted state, Poison Bass slammed both his forehooves into the distracted mare, sending her flying once more in the opposite direction. She grunted in pain as she sailed away, and before she could recover, Poison Bass was above her, slamming all four of his hooves down onto her exposed underside, crashing her into the ground, a cloud of dust erupting upwards.
“CRAAAASH!” Soarin’ called to Dash with her nickname from a distance, panic-stricken eyes staring at Poison Bass, who was flying above the dust cloud, smirking.
His smirk turned to that of horror when Rainbow Dash exploded out of the dust cloud, whirling around and kicking her hind legs right into Poison Bass’s muzzle. With a resounding crack, he flipped backwards in the air, only to be met with more strikes from a tattered and bleeding Rainbow Dash. “Get! Out! Of! My! Stallion!” The mare barked, shouting into his face with each strike of her forehooves. A little spurt of blood flew from his mouth with each strike, but…
He was smiling. And laughing. As if he were enjoying the beating.
“What kind of monster are you!?” Dash screamed, slamming a hoof into his muzzle one more time. “What have you done with my Ace!?”
“Delicious!” Poison Bass practically hissed as he suddenly slammed his head upward, conking Rainbow Dash on the head. Dash screamed, reeling back as Poison Bass floated upwards in front of her. “The love you have for that pathetic stallion is absolutely intoxicating, my dear Miss Dash…please…” He extended a forehoof as it started to glow green. “Keep it coming.” He finished somewhat seductively as he laughed and fired a green burst of energy at Rainbow Dash.
Dash regained her senses just in time to strafe to the right, narrowly avoiding the blast. Poison Bass continued to laugh maniacally as he sent blast after blast after the rainbow-maned Wonderbolt, the said Pegasus zipping through the ruins of Dodge Junction as quickly as her mighty wings could carry her, the blasts demolishing whatever was left of the ruins of the once proud frontier town.
Rainbow Dash knew she had to end this quickly. Thunderlane was bleeding out and needed help. She shuddered as she continued to dodge, going through various plans in her head as to how she could end this fight. Killing him was out of the question. Her best bet was to find some way to knock him out...make him retreat...or…
Or maybe Dan was still in there.
“Worth a shot…” Dash thought, nodded to herself as she suddenly angled herself upward, flaring her wings as she once again regained eye contact with her opponent. “Please be in there…”
“DAAAAAAN!!!!” Rainbow Dash barked as she floated there, tears flooding her goggles.
Poison Bass lowered his hoof, the green energy dissipating. He frowned, cocking his head to the side. Slowly, in the theatre of Rainbow Dash’s mind, her enemy slowly transformed into her lover.
“DAAAAAN!!!!” She reached a forehoof up and wrenched her goggles off of her head. “Come out! PLEASE! You big DOPE!” She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. “You’ve GOTTA be in there!”
Slowly, Poison Bass started shaking...with laughter. It started out a low chuckle, but slowly grew into a maniacal cackle. He doubled over in the air, slapping a forehoof to his leg. “HAHAHA!!! Oh, my dear, this is priceless!” He shook his head, wiping tears away as he continued to laugh.
Dash lowered her head, more tears falling from her eyes. “Damn it…” Dash muttered before looking up again, her magenta orbs brimming with tears, her lower lip quivering. “Dan...please…I love you...I miss you...you’ve...” She shook her head. “You’ve just gotta be in there!”
Finishing his fit of laughter, he shook his head back at the mare. “Don’t you get it!? Dan is gone!” He flared his wings and readied himself for another attack. “Your human plaything is finished! And, as entertaining a punching bag you make, bitch...I find there’s no more entertainment to be had here. Now, if you’ll allow me, I have a job to do…” He cackled again as he rocketed forward, towards the floating mare.
“CRASH!” Soarin’ barked. “Buck, what is she doing!?” The male Wonderbolt flared his wings, ready to go help, but he again felt Spitfire’s hoof on his shoulder. With a shake of Spitfire’s head, his wings relaxed and he growled, eyeing the evil stallion as he careened towards Rainbow Dash.
Dash could only look away as Poison Bass screamed on the approach, hooves extended and crackling with green energy. She expected an explosion of pain...to be thrown painfully to the ground...but instead, she felt the breath get knocked out of her as the blue stallion embraced her in a full-on hug.
“Wha-” Before she could say anything else, she gasped when her magenta eyes met that of…
Golden...instead of green.
“Dash!” The stallion barked, tracing a forehoof along the side of her face. “Listen to me! I don’t have much ti-” It was Ace’s turn to be cut off as Dash pressed her muzzle passionately into his, tears flowing down her face as they kissed in the air. Ace returned the kiss, but only briefly. He pulled away from her, and she placed her forehooves on each side of his head.
“What? How did-!? But you…” Dash struggled to find her breath between the exercise she got from her plight against him and the emotions that currently clogged her mind. “Is it...really…?”
“I heard you call…” Ace nodded resolutely, gripping one of her hooves in his. “Nothing can keep me back when I hear your voice…” His eyes twitched slightly, and he growled, floating backwards away from Rainbow Dash, gripping his head.
“What...what happened to you!?” Dash ‘dashed’ forward to Dan, placing forehooves on his shoulders. “C’mon, we’ll get you Twilight! She can fix this if we hurry…”
“NO!” Dan suddenly barked, one of his eyes fizzling back to green for a split second. “No...there’s no time...he’s crawling back up…” He gripped Dash’s shoulders once more. “Dash, listen to me! Gather the Elements of Harmony! Tell Twilight that Chrysalis is back and...rrrrrAAAHHHH!” He floated backwards again, gripping his head, panting heavily. “Come...come find me! It’s the only way to safely destroy him without destroying meEEEEEEEE!!!!!”
“DAN!” Dash tried to flit forward again, but Dan held up a forehoof. He gave one last smile.
“I love you DashiEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-eeeeee….”
“NO!” Dash extended a forehoof as the stallion went limp midair.
The stallion slowly raised his head, cracking his neck, the evil, eerie green eyes glowing at her from under his hair. He shook his head and stretched, an utterly neutral expression painting his face. “Well…” He muttered, gazing at Dash, snarling slightly. “That was unpleasant…”
“You...he…” Dash shook her head. “I’m gonna kick your flank so hard you’ll wish you never inhabited the same frame as Ace…” She growled, realization dawning on her that she now had the upper hoof. “Now that he’s told me how.”
Poison Bass’s eyes went wide. “But...he...you’re bluffing!”
“Am I?” Dash snarled.
The two Pegasi stared each other down for a uncomfortable amount of seconds before Poison Bass huffed. “Damn you…” He snarled. “DAMN YOU, LOYALTY! DAMN YOU DAN! That...that wasn’t supposed to happen!” He flared his wings. “This...we’ll meet again! And...I’ll finish you!”
“I’m sure…” Rainbow Dash kept her narrowed eyes on the evil green of Poison Bass’s. The terrified stallion took off, speeding off into the sky.
Rainbow Dash, as soon as the stallion was out of sight and sound, floated to the ground and sighed, collapsing. Panting heavily, she rolled over on her back, looking up at the sky. No tears came, though. She had a reunion with Ace, however brief it was, and now she knew he was still in there.
And she knew what she needed to do.
“CRASH!” Spitfire galloped up to her winded compatriot, offering a forehoof to help her up. “What...what happened?! Are you ok? Where’d he go?”
“I’m fine…” Dash nodded, brushing some dust off of her tattered flight suit.
“Was that really...you know...Ace?” Spitfire pressed.
Dash looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up and nodding, resolution in her eyes. “Yes.”
“Why the hay did he straight up attack you like that?” Spitfire frowned. “I mean, yeesh, 15 years is a long-ass time, but-”
“It has nothing to do with that.” Dash stomped a hoof, glaring at Spitfire for a second. “He’s been...corrupted somehow.”
“By the Changelings we fought?”
“Yeah. He said that Chrysalis is back and that she did this to him.” Dash paused, stomping another hoof and snarling. “If she lays one hoof on my stallion…”
Spitfire shook her head. “I don’t believe it. He finally comes back after all these years and he gets turned against us by the very thing we could use his help against...wait…” Spitfire cocked an eye. “How did you know that?”
“He…” Dash shrugged. “Broke free.” She sighed. “When he heard me calling for him. He told me we need the Elements of Harmony to free him. It’s the only way to destroy the evil that’s corrupted him.” She looked off in the direction he flew and narrowed her magenta orbs. “He ran away with his tail between his legs when I told him I knew what to do to stop him. I didn’t say what though.” She flicked her tail and turned to face the Wonderbolt captain. “We need to get back to Ponyville and find Twilight.”
Spitfire stared for a moment, as if trying to process everything she just heard, before nodding as well. “Well, then we know our next mission, don’t we?” A sudden cry from the ruins where she was taking cover caused both mares to whip their heads around. Thunderlane was up. Spitfire swore under her breath. “Your stallion got Thunderlane good, though...we need to get him some medical care first.”
Rainbow Dash nodded at Spitfire before jumping up, gliding over to the ruins where Soarin’ and Thunderlane were hiding. The sight that greeted her was Soarin’ using a torn piece of Wonderbolt flight suit as a tourniquet on the shoulder where Poison Bass’s beam had impacted the black stallion.
“Easy, Thunders, easy…” Soarin’ nodded, patting the black Wonderbolt’s mane. “You’re gonna be just fine…”
Thunderlane cried out again as Soarin’ applied more pressure to the cloth.
“He won’t make it…” Spitfire hissed to Rainbow Dash as she entered too. “The next nearest town is Ponyville, and I don’t know if we can get him there in time.”
Dash swore. “There’s gotta be something we can do to help him.”
“Um...maybe w-we can help…”
Both mare Wonderbolts whipped around, combat ready, and wings flared. Soarin’ yanked his head up and stared at a group of three ponies that were standing in the entrance to the ruins of the house they had hidden in.
“Whoa! Easy! Easy!” An orange Pegasus stallion with a red mane and tail in leather ballistic armor stepped forward, forehooves extended up. “Corporal Redemption, Red Hooves of Celestia! I’m a friend here, guys!”
Rainbow and Spitfire eased up a bit, scanning the other two ponies as well. The others were both Pegasi as well, one a stallion with a brilliant white coat and an electric blue mane and tail, and the last was a mare with weird pointy ears, a blue hide, and a purple mane and tail.
“Hello, Dash…” The white stallion kicked the ground with a hoof.
“F-Fyre Bolt…” Dash blushed slightly out of embarrassment. “What are you doing here?” She demanded.
“He came to find Dan.” The mare spoke up. “I’m Violet, by the way. Or Vio...if you want.” The mare blinked curiously. “To...set things right.”
“Did you now?” Dash narrowed her eyes, stomping towards Fyre Bolt. “Well, mister, you’ve got some guts! He’d have probably killed you if he-”
“He almost did, Dash…” Fyre Bolt raised a hoof. “I told him everything…” Fyre Bolt sighed, kicking a hoof again. “He...he didn’t take it well, but he didn’t kill me, so...there’s that.”
An awkward silence fell for a moment before Redemption stepped forward again. “Wonderbolts, I have a med-pac with me that I can use to stabilize your friend there…” he reached into his saddlebag and produced the pac. “Let me help.”
Dash and Spitfire looked back at Soarin’, who quickly nodded and gestured the Red Hoof over. Redemption rushed past the two mare Wonderbolts and crouched down, quickly getting to work on Thunderlane. Dash turned to Vio and Fyre Bolt and nodded gratefully. “So, how did you get here, Vio?”
Vio whimpered, and Fyre Bolt patted her on the back. “She was the only survivor of Dodge Junction being destroyed...poor mare.”
“And the Red Hoof?” Spitfire gestured over her shoulder.
“Corporal Redemption. He was leading a division of guards to search for Ace after he didn't report back, evidently…” Fyre Bolt sighed. “Ace...or, I guess...whoever that is now...slaughtered the entire division and left him for dead...Vio and I found him.” He looked up at the busy Hoof stitching up Thunderlane’s wound. “Luckily, he had two of those pac-things.”
“So what’s...the plan now?” Vio muttered, looking up. “Uh, I m-mean...it’s such a pleasure to meet you guys, Captain Spitfire and c-co-Captain Dash...uhm…”
Dash placed a hoof on Vio’s trembling shoulder. “Our first priority will be to get you and Thunderlane to the safety of Ponyville...then, I’m going to gather the Elements of Harmony and go after my stallion.”
Fyre Bolt’s face fell briefly, but he nodded in agreement.
“I’m with you, Crash.” Spitfire nodded, then turned. “What about you, Soar-” She paused, her eyes widening. “in’...”
Dash whipped around and gasped, planting her face in a forehoof. “Cud…”
Soarin’, Redemption, and Thunderlane were being surrounded by several striped, cloaked figures with spears. The trio of Pegasus stallions slowly raised their forehooves into the air, Soarin’ coughing nervously.
“Nopony move.” The one who appeared to be their leader said, stepping forward.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville…
Night had finally fallen over Ponyville, Luna’s moon shone brightly down on the Carousel Boutique, which thankfully remained largely untouched by time. Rarity insisted on keeping it as it was intended to be: a home-style boutique for the town she loved and a home for her and her sister, Sweetie Belle. Of course, Rarity had gotten technological upgrades to help with her clothing endeavors, but the ‘rules of Rarity’ remained everlastingly the same.
Tonight found Rarity on the couch of her living quarters upstairs, nursing a tremendous headache (from fainting twice in one day), while a robotic pony gingerly placed an ice pack on her head, above her horn.
“Ugh...right. Thank you, darling.” Rarity groaned, using a forehoof to press the pack to her head.
“Uh, yeah, no problem? I guess…” Wheatley kicked a robotic hoof, spinning around a few times before making himself comfortable on the coffee table. His one optic looked up, glowing in realization. “Hey! Being a horse isn’t so bad! I can literally sit my rear-end down anywhere and it feels good!”
“Get off the table, you moron!” A pillow came sailing from seemingly out of nowhere, smacking the robot pony clean off the table. “I told my brother he should’ve gotten an AI with more manners…” John, Dan’s brother, came trotting it, doing his best to use a hoof to carry a tray containing two tea cups and a kettle. The recently-transformed green pony looked quite comical as he tried to canter his way to Rarity. “Hell, gladOs would have been preferable to you…”
Wheatley widened his optic in mock horror. “Oh, woe is me! John likes the villain better than me!”
“You haven’t even played your own game, have you, you bucket of bolts?” John shot Wheatley a glare before turning his attention to Rarity, who was chuckling. “Sorry, Rarity...not quite used to the...horse thing yet. I got your tea, though…”
“Not at all, darling.” Rarity smiled. “You remind me of your brother…”
“In what regard?”
“You are quite charming.” Rarity grinned before igniting her horn, levitating a cup of tea towards her mouth, taking a sip.
John guffawed, laughing quite loudly. “You sure ‘charming’ is the word to describe my brother?”
Rarity chuckled through her tea, lowering the cup. “Ah, much better already...thank you, Shining Badge.”
John groaned at the use of his ponysana’s name. That was one of the more cringe-worthy things he’s ever experienced in life. He rubbed his temples with his forehooves, as if nursing a headache. “Please only call me that in public…”
Rarity giggled in response. She looked over at John. “Why...didn’t you use your magic to carry the tray?”
John whipped his head back in Rarity’s direction, an eye cocked. “My...my what?”
“Your magic, dear.” Rarity ignited her horn and levitated her cup of tea again, as if to demonstrate. “You are a unicorn now, after all.”
John gingerly reached up and touched the tip of his horn. “Right. I, um…” He scratched his messy blonde mane. “Don’t know how?” He shrugged.
“Oh...right. Yes, of course. How silly of me to assume.” Rarity put her teacup down, her magic fizzling out. “You’ve been here but one day.”
“And that’s more than enough…”
“What was that?” Rarity eyed the green stallion.
“Soooo…” John scratched the back of his head with a forehoof again. “Tell me more about what you remember about Dan?”
Rarity smiled. “Oh, what to say about Dan except that he was everything Rainbow Dash could’ve hoped for in a stallion.”
John thanked whatever deity oversaw this world that Rarity was okay with him changing the subject, but then quickly responded in kind. “Rainbow Dash, huh? Kinda want to meet my…” he paused. “Sister-in-law?”
“She might as well be, darling…” Rarity continued. “Goodness, if he had been able to stay just a bit longer, I’m convinced they would’ve tied the knot.” Rarity sighed. “I can see it now. A Canterlot wedding. Dan and Dash standing at the altar, being married by Princess Celestia herself.” Rarity looked down, sighing, and taking her teacup with her magic again. “But it was not to be.”
“Why’d he have to go?” John asked. “I mean, I’m glad he came back...but...why?”
Rarity twirled her teacup around for a moment before looking over at him with her bright blue eyes. “Your world was...um, how did Twilight put it? In a standstill. Yes! That’s it! Frozen in time until he returned to you!”
“You mean…” John blinked in confusion. “He came back to-”
“To save your planet. Earth, right?” Rarity smiled. “He loves his family back on Earth.” She laughed. “But I don’t need to tell you that, do I?”
John gave a light-hearted chuckle. “No...no you don’t. He’s a good man, and an even better older brother.” He paused, cocking his head at Rarity. “This, uh...Rainbow Dash? Dan...my brother...means a lot to her, doesn’t he?”
“Oh dearie…” Rarity sighed. “Dash had been a tom-colt her whole life, not caring about stallions or dating or love at all. In fact, we all thought she was of the other persuasion for the longest time.”
“It’s right in the name, too!” Wheatley interjected. “Rainbow! It’s right there! She should be called ‘gay-pride’ horse!”
A dirty glare from John and Wheatley was quiet. He gestured for Rarity to continue.
“But, when Dan came along, oh, you should’ve seen her…” Rarity sighed. “Something inside her changed drastically when they met, and every year since his departure, he is all she thinks about.” Rarity angled her head towards John, who sat quietly across from the coffee table, eyeing Rarity. When their eyes met, he coughed, covering his mouth with a forehoof and looking down.
“I...I’d like to meet this girl. Rainbow Dash, I mean.” He paused. “And my super-powered nephew.”
Rarity eyed John right back for a couple of moments before getting up, removing the ice pack from her head. “Well, that will have to wait, darling…your nephew is at a sleepover and Rainbow Dash is with the Wonderbolts right now.” She started trotting towards her bed. “In addition, you’ll have a wait a couple days for your summons from the Hierarchy and Celestia, so while Twilight starts her busy-work, I suggest you relax. Get some rest. It is late, and seeing as you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon...” She angled her head towards John and smiled. “You are more than welcome to stay here for now, Shining Badge.”
Then she winked.
“Uh…” John blushed, looking down. “S-sure. I’ll, uh...I’ll be on guard downstairs. I saw a couch down there, too.”
Rarity chuckled, using her magic to lift the covers off the bed so she could scurry in. “And hey, I‘m not an expert like Twilight, but I can teach you some basic magic if you’d like.”
John couldn’t help but smile at that. “Deal.”
“Goodnight, darling.” Rarity buried herself under the covers of her bed.
“Goodnight, Rarity.” John nodded, grabbing Wheatley with a forehoof and dragging him out of Rarity’s room, gently closing the door behind them.
When the unlikely duo reached the ground floor, John struggled to find comfort on the couch meant for guests nestled by the front doors. Wheatley was on the floor next to him.
John found himself staring at the ceiling, wondering where on this weird world his brother could be and how on this weird world they were going to get back to Earth. That strange voice that sounded before he got transported...something was wrong, and he had the sickening feeling that Earth could be in terrible danger.
“Oi, John?” Wheatley spoke up.
“What is it, Wheatley?”
“You reckon Dan is okay?”
John paused for a moment, still staring at the ceiling. “Yes. I do.” He turned to face Wheatley. “And tomorrow, we’re gonna go find him. And bring him home.”
“But...how mate?” Wheatley protested. “None of these horses know where he went.”
John laughed, eyeing Wheatley’s blue optic. “Wheatley, you forget that I’m a certified police detective…” He turned back to face the ceiling. “I’ll find someon-, er, pony, who knows where he went. I'm not going to wait for the authorization of some Princess. I’ll track him down. I’d stake my reputation on it.”
Wheatley’s optic rolled. “As much as it is.”
A *kong* of metal sounded out as John reached a hoof over and smacked the robot pony on the top of his head. “Wheatley, it’s not just that I want to find him...it’s that we need to find him.”
“Ugh…” Wheatley rubbed the top of his head. “Why’s that, mate?”
John turned himself to once more face the ceiling. His blue eyes blinked nervously as he placed his forehooves behind his head. “Because I believe wholeheartedly that he’s in deeper shit than anyone of these horses knows what to do with...and he’ll need our help.”
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I never did understand the point of a seventh element when the mane six have done just fine without one.
:')
9197582
Who cares when the story is so good???
9197637
I know, I know.
It's great to see this updated again.
When you plan on retconning something, are you going to go back and change it or just make a note about it in a recent chapter? I ask because I kinda want to re-read the story to get caught back up again.
its alive!!!!!!!!
Woo! It's back!
Welcome back bro.
Also, you all just lost the game.
Chrysalis...
You'll soon learn why Dan is not one to underestimate...
You may have control over him, but he will fight every step of the way!
Welcome back!
Welcome back! It's nice to see this returning. This was one of those stories that really had me hooked several years ago. Really excited to read upcoming chapters!
... now that I think of it, I have to go back and reread the series from the beginning as a refresher.
9283525
Do so at your own peril, my friend. I cringed when rereading them.